Of course, you don’t come here to read the news. Of course, you understand that anything I say is going to be slanted by my distrust of everything Bibi does as he slips slides away from being an amazing representative of Israel in the UN to becoming – well – a pathetic magician. Today he tried to pull a coin out of your ear and you heard it tinkling on the floor. Do you blame him? wouldn’t you do anything you could to avoid jail?
april 27, 2021 – i can’t talk po Read Post »
I wasn’t there. I stayed close to home and ran around with errands. But when Ezi came back I discovered how much I missed. It’s exactly the kind of archeological hike that brings the bible back to life. I Samuel chapter 4 describes a lost war with the Philistines here and the loss of the ark. and the whole thing could be seen in that site.
and of course I wasn’t there.
april 27, 2021 – tel afek Read Post »
I have no authority to write about Egypt. I was there last year and felt like I was at home, and I wrote a little book about it. That’s all. But when I read about it in the New York Times
and how all the sites that had been crowded with people were now empty – I was so…is there a word like ‘homesick’ for a place you’ve only been to once?
Most of the attractions for tourists in Israel are also attractions for the locals, so as soon as it is allowed, we crowd in everywhere. So we didn’t see many empty places – or maybe i don’t remember. You would know better than I do if you’ve read these pages because I don’t read what I write.
it is a bit of a family tradition for Ezi. My mother-in-law used to go on archeological trips and take courses all the time. The attraction of Israelis to what is under our feet is very strong. I used to think it was connected to proving our biblical lineage, but it seems to be much more. On our trail, every little dig is examined in detail – the Philistine temple, the Canaanite idols, the neanderthal graves, and, of course, the Jewish sites.
It was like being in another world and coming back home at the same time. On the street, right off of the shuk, we sat in the Basta. Every item was unkosher, and the place is totally uncool – and that is what makes it a place that Tel Avivians are willing to stand in line and wait for. 19 Hashomer Street. Everyone goes there. No one looks around to see who’s there.
april 24, 2021 – basta Read Post »
As Bibi runs out of options and we are beginning to be able to picture an alternative society, even though we can’t see what that alternative can be. How crazy or sane it will be. Everything depends on what kind of coalition we can form, and how much damage can be created outside of the coalition. We really deserve just a little quiet in this country.
April 23, 2021 – running out of options Read Post »
we are pretending that we’re going back to normal living. Tonight we meet with Ezi’s extended family – kids and adults alike – and nothing much has changed.
Are we kidding? Most of us haven’t spoken in over a year, and everyone has gone through incredible changes – except those who really haven’t noticed what they’ve been up to and how it’s different. Some of us are twice the size – children grown, adults fattened up, elders more frail. Some of us have become a bit demented, others have nothing to say because nothing has happened to them.
And none of us will mention the fact that we are in terror that the plague may return before or after we are nuked.
All this makes us psychologically different
april 23, 2021 – no covid deaths Read Post »
after a few intense days, the intensity coming from almost all directions, I was ready for a day in bed. Sunday – a misunderstanding about payment at the university of a friend I invited, Monday a day at the hospital to discover at last that all my crazy symptoms are ultimately “nothing to write home about”, Tuesday 12 kilometers in burning heat climbing Napolean Hill, Tel Casira, escaping to save our lives, wednesday exercise, shopping an meetings, and finally – thursday: discovering a way to return this site to it’s usual mess. Now for today – more exercise, more internet maintenance, and a family party in the evening.
thank goodness for Shabbat. we’ll go exploring in the shuk in the evening after a day of rest.
april 23, 2021 – recovered Read Post »
